Hi everyone,
On Tuesday it was the monthly West Wales NADFAS lecture in Narbeth " The Duke of Wellington and the Treasures of Apsley House". The Queen's Hall was packed out with eager people. For those that read my blog last month you will know I had to miss most of the lecture on Irish country Houses to come to the aid of a gentleman who became extremely ill. Good news he was at this months lecture very much alive, and true to form asked the first question as usual!! Still it was not without what could have proved a major technical computer glitch. The computer and power point did not want to talk to the slide projector. We were on the verge of having a lecture without being able to see paintings and his treasures but at the eleventh hour a lady came forward with her laptop and all was rectified!!
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/apsley-house/
It seemed to me that as grateful thanks from his time in India, Spain and Portugal he received endless exquisite dinner services. The Portuguese gave him an 1000 piece silver dinner service as grateful thanks for driving the french out of their country during the Peninsula Campaign. Somehow he ended up having eighty eight masterpieces from the Spanish Royal collection which he offered to return. The present British Embassy in Paris belonged to Bonaparte's sister and was given to the Duke of Wellington as well as a rare Sevres china Egyptian Service which he gave to the Victoria and Albert Museum. The Austrians gave him Meisen china Vienna dinner service and following the Battle of Waterloo the King of Prussia amongst other gifts gave him the Prussian dinner service.
I had no idea that Waterloo was a village close to the Belgium border or that he was called the Iron Duke because of the iron shutters at Apsley House. It was an extremely interesting and stimulating lecture.
Talking of dinner services anyone interested in fine china and old patterns from Wedgewood, Royal Worcester, Crown Derby etc. should go along to the closing down sale of the fine china shop at the top end of Kings Street, Carmarthen as everything is half price. The gentleman who runs the shop is giving up after fifty years in the business. Sadly the Royal Worcester set I use at home which belonged to my mother was an extremely popular pattern but I did spot another design I liked so the man that runs it is going to track down some odd pieces from his Lampeter Shop. Sadly very few people use fine bone china nowadays and it was fascinating listening to him and the care he took checking for cracks in the china a close friend bought.
On the topic of museums, paintings and artefact's you can now armchair travel your way into many of the main art galleries in the world by using google art project. No airport queues, crowds, jet lag just sit down in the comfort of you own sitting room or office and off you go to the Museum of Modern Art in New York with a click of a button. How good is that in reducing the carbon foot print and gaining green miles!!!!
http://www.googleartproject.com/
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